This too shall pass. So, what happens next?

by Chris Day

I’ve never been one to worry if the glass is half full or half empty. I’ve been more concerned as to who has the bottle! Right now, despite all of the sad and unprecedented things that are happening, this is the moment when you should be using the enforced opportunity of self-isolation, to take a close look at what you have been doing up till now and to ask yourself, ‘do I really want to do more of this?’ Or do you want to reinvent your future self? You do have the choice.

It is so easy to get into a rut and a comfort zone and not have the energy or motivation to change. A bit like the lazy dog sleeping on a nail. It is annoying but not enough to actually move.

If you keep on doing what you are doing, you will keep getting what you are getting. Is that going to serve you and your family?

A teenager was once asked by a careers teacher what he wanted to do when he left school. He mumbled that he didn’t know. The teacher then said ‘I understand that you don’t know, but if you did, what would you like to do?’ ‘I want to be a chef’ came the reply.

I know you don’t know what you want to do next, but if you did, what might that be? We all have long suppressed wishes and dreams that, for one reason or another, we have given up on long ago. With the world being on pause and every business and everybody frozen in time, you will never have a better opportunity to take stock of yourself and to decide what you want to be or do next.

So what assets do you have? I don’t mean money, your house; your car; or the expensive sofa you are still paying for. Take a look back at your life and look at all the different people you have been over the years. What are the jobs you have worked at, the experiences you have had; the skills you have learnt. What do people ask your help with? Where do they see your value?

Your greatest asset is your knowledge and experience. In your current opportunity, is that being appreciated? Or could they replace you with a robot? What could you be doing that plays to your real strengths and would provide you with a far more rewarding experience?

One thing is for certain when things do get back to normal, whenever that may be, all those people who have been furloughed, made redundant or whose business is no longer there, are going to be rushing to get a job – any job. There will be many desperate people. Think ahead. Is now the time to take back charge of your own destiny?  

Remember, no employer will ever pay you what you are really worth. They could not afford to. They will pay you the least they can get away with, and get the maximum value from you for their business. It is the law of economics. Only you can pay yourself what you are worth when you work for yourself. 

Businesses will have learned a big lesson over the last few months. Why have big expensive offices when everyone can work from home? Why have staff, when you could employ freelances, and cut down overheads? Why travel to meetings when you can bring everyone together on a Zoom call? There is no doubt that a lot is going to change. Now is the time to think ahead and objectively look at your future and who you could become next.

Maybe then will you discover who actually has the bottle!

©2020 Chris Day www.Authoritize.me.uk  07802 211587 – Helping people to turn their knowledge into income by becoming published authors.